Alaska June 18 – 30. First stop Denali National Park

This is my fifth day in Denali. My preconceived notions are crumbling and my curiosity is bubbling over. I assumed it would be similar too my trip in Yellowstone, an abundance of animals. I assumed that we would be a small group ( should have read the trip description, 40 participants).
There is not an abundance of animals, 6 million square miles and an estimated bear population of about 400. Biodiversity is very low, 6 large mammals, Caribou, Moose, Bear, Lynx, Wolf, and Dahl Sheep, 1 type of amphibian, 0 reptiles. This is all because of the temperature and low light. The bird population is also not diverse. Birds fly in for the summer and migrate out for winter.

The days are currently about 21 hours long, however there is really no dark.

The vistas are fantastic

We are having a good mixture of classroom learning and field learning. The accomodations are small duplex cabins. The food is excellent, especially the contributions of the pastry chefs.

Interesting facts- only 1% of the visitors ever use the trails.  Only 1/3 see all of Mt Denali, the highest peak in the US. Denali is the only National Park to maintain and use sled dog teams.